


you give me a reason (to feel what I feel)

by google_teef



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Bisexual Riley Matthews, F/F, Homophobia, Lesbian Maya Hart, Manipulative Friendship, Useless wlw, Warnings May Change, dumb ways to fit little canon rilaya references into this au, happy ending I promise, mermaid au, shitty friends and lovely friends, the matthews kind of co-raised maya, the whole Mermaid Origin Story is a bit sad, they live in florida au (big rip), theyre teens its realism, this is very pro katy tho love her to death, um language?? i say the fuck word a lot and so do these characters, zay is wonderful and supportive and lovely
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-03-29 12:55:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19020358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/google_teef/pseuds/google_teef
Summary: Maya's been neck deep in her sexuality crisis ever since people started to ask if there was anything *more* to her friendship with Lucas in middle school. This summer is gonna be the worst of it, she can already tell, because her friend Missy is breathing down her back about making a move and Maya's worried she's gonna catch on to just why she's so reluctant. So it might be fate when she's rescued from drowning by the kindest, most gorgeous creature she's ever met.





	1. Chapter 1

Maya used to love the beach. She could remember coming here after school every day, before she hit middle school and got too busy with school and homework and trying desperately to be liked by people she didn’t actually care about. She and Lucas would go together, back when they were best friends and nothing else, back when everything was uncomplicated. They used to wade out to where the water came up to their shoulders, tickling Maya’s chin with every wave. They made a game out of it- ten points to jump over a wave, five to duck under. Maya liked to try to jump the waves, but they were usually far too tall and hit her dead in the face. She’d burst to the surface gasping, saltwater burning her nose and eyes, but she’d look over at her friend and just laugh it away.

Nowadays things were different. She didn’t like getting in the water as much. Missy told her one time that Maya looked ugliest when her hair was wet, which Maya could tell was a shitty thing to say, but she’d started to get in the water less anyways. Funny how things like that affected you even when you didn’t want them to. 

The whole gang was at the beach this afternoon- it was the first week of summer, and everyone was buzzing with excitement of two and a half months of freedom before they plunged into the chaotic hell of senior year. The sun was hot that day (as it tends to be in early June), and Maya could already feel the tops of her shoulders singeing. Last summer’s freckles had long since faded, but she’d started to see a few small ones littering her forearms in the last week or so, and one or two on the bridge of her nose. She’d likely have to start wearing foundation again if she wanted to go out in public without being ridiculed by Missy.

Smackle laid out the towels for the girls to lay on as Lucas and Zay ran off to try to chuck Farkle into the ocean while he still had his regular clothes on.

“Guys- fuck, stop it! I’m serious my phone is in my pocket!” Farkle protested as the larger boys grabbed hold of his limbs.

“Nah, I’ve got your phone. Have fun!” Missy shouted. She giggled, holding up his phone and wallet. 

He yelped in midair before landing face first into the sea, producing an impressively large splash for his small size. Maya made no effort to hide her laughter. Farkle resurfaced moments later and glared at Zay and Lucas, who were laughing so hard that they were beginning to fall over. Maya smiled. Maybe this summer wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

“Maya, you’re tanning today, right?” a voice piped up from just behind her. Maya turned around to face Missy, whose eyebrow was quirked subtly, judging her for an answer she hadn’t even given yet. 

“I wasn’t gonna. Er- I mean, should I?” she mumbled, mentally cursing herself for her inability to stand her ground. Missy scrunched up her nose.

“I mean like… it’s up to you, I guess.”

“No!” Maya protested. “I’ll tan today, yeah. It’s cool.”

“You can listen to my podcast with me, Maya. It’s about recent discoveries in cellular biology,” Smackle offered, holding out an earbud. 

“Yeah, no thanks, Smackle.” Smackle shrugged and put her earbud back in. She laid down on her towel, not bothering to take off her glasses as she closed her eyes. Missy had made many a comment on Smackle’s reluctance to invest in contact lenses, but Smackle never seemed to let them affect her. Another way that Maya’s friends were stronger than her.

As Maya sat down on the sun-warmed towel, she looked out to the ocean, where the boys were splashing and laughing, she felt a twinge of jealousy. She wanted to be out there with them, carefree in the sea, not worried about her hair or her tan or how her thighs looked in her swimsuit. Missy looked at her and followed her gaze. 

“Enjoying the view, Maya?” Missy giggled, elbowing her in the side of her ribcage.

“Yeah,” she said, brain fuzzy. “Wait- oh,” Maya stuttered, when it dawned on her what Missy was implying. Her eyes caught on Lucas, who was reaching up to stretch his arms, displaying his chest- already tan despite how early it still was in the summer. He flexed, and Maya knit her eyebrows. Just like that, Lucas turned towards them, hair shaggy and wet, and gave her a wink. Maya’s stomach dropped. She genuinely thought that she might throw up right then and there, but she managed to force a little smile. She laid down on her towel, her back to Missy, as she tried to swallow the bile in her throat. She tapped Smackle on the shoulder. 

“What does science have to say today, Smackle?” she asked. Smackle smiled and, without opening her eyes, handed Maya an earbud. She popped it in her ear and shut her eyes as she listened to the scientific gibberish drone softly through the speaker. The sunlight’s warm blanket draped over her legs and she began to doze off right there on the summer sand.

She woke up an indeterminable time later to Missy’s hand tapping painfully hard on her shoulder. Maya grumbled and rolled over to face her. Missy leaned in, closer than she would under most circumstances, which made Maya’s cheeks go warm. She swallowed and scooted herself backwards.

“What do you want?” Maya asked her. Missy wiggled her eyebrows and leaned in again, despite Maya’s tensing up once more.

“So is this summer gonna be it? Is one of you guys finally gonna make a move?” Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Her stomach churned. Maya’d been dreading this conversation. She searched her brain for the excuses and lies she’d had on command since people started asking her about Lucas in the seventh grade.

“I don’t know, I kind of feel like I don’t want to risk our friend group being messed with,” she said with practiced realism. 

“Ugh, that’s such a pussy-ass thing to say,” Missy countered with a playful nudge on the shoulder.

“I don’t even think my mom would let me be in a relationship,” Maya lied again. 

“Why do I feel like you’re just making up excuses now?” she teased. Maya’s stomach lurched for what felt like the tenth time today.

“Hey!” said a voice from over by the water. Thank God in heaven. “Do y’all want to get some food? I’m really hungry,” said Zay. Maya personally thought that was a wonderful idea. Anything where she could leave this conversation right here and not return to it for a long time. She shot to her feet, almost bumping her head on Missy’s.

“Great! I could go for literally anything,” she said, jogging up beside him and linking her arm with his. 

“Whatever, pig,” Missy grumbled, and Maya crossed her arms over her stomach with a pang of self-consciousness. 

“Okay. Bitch. Let’s go, Maya,” Zay said. Fuck, Maya loved Zay. 

“Hold on, hold on. We’re coming. Right guys?” Missy asked, glancing at the remaining members of the group expectantly. Smackle cleared her throat and sat up, taking off her glasses momentarily to rub her eyes. 

“Here,” Lucas said, walking over to Smackle’s towel and offering out his hand to help her up. Smackle glanced at him, and pushed herself up without touching him.

“Stop flirting with me,” she said, unsmiling. Lucas shook his head, laughing silently at the ground.

The group set out to the little beachside restaurant where they would be eating their meals for the next three months. It was a small building, made of brightly painted concrete that had been fading slowly for the past six summers. The roof was straw, which seemed ill-advised for a small structure housing cooking equipment, but it had yet to catch fire (well… as far as Maya knew). There wasn’t space for inside seating, so you’d order at the window and park yourself on one of the wooden benches with peeling paint that Maya was pretty sure the owner had stolen from the park at some point. Despite all this, there was something comforting about the place. It always smelled like food, the people were always friendly, and it was nice and shady, so she could cool down without getting in the water. 

“Farkle, sweetie, could you order the food?” Missy asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes. Farkle looked at her with his eyebrows knit, clearly not quite sure what she was doing. 

“Uh, sure,” he said with a shrug. He headed over to the little window while the rest of them sat down on the benches. Somehow, Maya ended up next to Lucas. He smiled, not looking her in the eye. She thought for the second time that day that she might throw up. Maya’s eyes shot across to Smackle, frantic to make some sort of conversation.

“Learn anything interesting from your podcast? I was trying to pay attention but, if we’re being honest, I had no idea what anything he was saying meant.” Zay giggled at that, and Maya felt her nerves calm a little bit. Smackle began a rather long-winded attempt to simplify the recent scientific findings. Unfortunately, just after Maya had let herself begin to breathe again, she felt Lucas’s knee rest itself on hers. Fuck. Well, she didn’t want to assume any ulterior motives. His legs could just be tired.

“So, as riveting as this is, I have no fucking idea what you’re saying. Let’s move on to a topic normal people can understand,” interrupted Zay. “What teachers are y’all hoping to get this year?”

“No, man. We just got out of school. I’m not gonna think about teachers, I just wanna relax,” Lucas said, leaning back a bit on the bench. Maya felt his hand rest itself on her thigh, about an inch and a half too high up to be comfortable. Every ounce of Maya’s being was compelling her to swat it away, push it off, stand up, walk away. But could she, without attracting too much attention?

“Food!” Farkle shouted, approaching the benches with a tray perched precariously on his forearm. Maya shot to her feet.

“I’ll help you with that,” she said, grabbing a plate of fried calamari and handing it to Zay. She pretended not to notice both Lucas and Missy trying to catch her eye as she distributed the food clumsily, trying not to drop anything.

“… Anyway,” Missy said, interrupting the silence. “I just really don’t want to get Mr. Matthews again, Jesus Christ,” she whined. Maya and Farkle sat down, with Farkle settling between she and Lucas, thank fuck. Turning her attention to what Missy had just said, Maya narrowed her eyes.

“What do you have against Mr. Matthews?” she asked Missy. 

Maya’s father hadn’t been in her life since she was little, but Mr. Matthews had. On her first day of middle school, he’d noticed the little blonde girl with the combat boots from the back of his fifth period class sitting outside the school at 6pm because her mother had forgotten to pick her up. He’d taken her back to her house, and from that day on he’d been the only father she needed. He’d help her with homework, take her places with his family, and he even became friends with Maya’s mom. The Matthews were as much her family as her actual blood relatives. Probably more, if she was being honest.

Missy just rolled her eyes and took a delicate bite of her sandwich.  
“Ugh, I just don’t want to sit through another gay-ass feelings lesson. Just teach me history, for God’s sake.” Lucas frowned.

“Mr. Matthews isn’t gay,” he said. Maya tensed. 

“No, like, I know that. He has a kid, obvi. But you know what I mean.”

Maya didn’t, but she wasn’t gonna fight this one. Getting deeper into this particular topic could be a really bad move. So instead she popped a french fry in her mouth and fixed her eyes on the beach. There was just one person swimming in the water, but they seemed really far out from the shore. Maya wondered if she should be concerned. 

“I like Matthews’ life lessons,” said Zay. “They’re insightful, you know?” 

“Yeah,” said Farkle. “And I don’t know. I feel like we’ve had him so long, it’d be crazy to finish out our high school careers with anyone else.”

“‘Zactly,” Zay said through a mouthful of food. Maya glanced up. The sky was clouding now, the cool breeze becoming a bit less pleasant. 

“It’s looking like it might rain,” she said. 

“Oh, ew! You’re totally right! Ugh, that sucks,” Missy groaned.

“I don’t want to get wet,” Smackle said nervously. Zay blinked at her.

“Then why’d you come to the beach?” he asked. Smackle knit her eyebrows.

“My friends were going. And it’s a nice day.” Zay chucked at this, giving up.

“Was a nice day,” Lucas sighed. “At this point, maybe we pack up and go home. I just checked my phone and there’s a big storm coming. Not supposed to let up til tomorrow morning.” Everyone grumbled as they got their things together. Farkle attempted to gather their dishes, still mostly full with uneaten food. Maya stayed focused on the ocean. There was still a person swimming on the horizon, seemingly ignorant of absence of sun and the increasing choppiness of the waves. 

“Does that person know that there’s a storm coming?” she asked no one in particular. If anyone heard, they didn’t do anything about it. Lucas jogged back to their spot on the beach to get everyone’s towels. Whoever it was in the water was showing no signs that they were headed to the shore. Maya began walking towards the ocean.

“Maya! What are you doing?” Missy shouted over the growing winds. 

“I’m… you guys can leave without me,” she found herself saying. “I’m gonna go see if that person’s okay.”

“Okay. Fuckin’ weirdo,” Zay said. “Don’t get yourself killed.”

“I won’t,” she muttered. “Lucas, can you leave my towel on the bench?” she asked him as he arrived back where the rest of the group was getting on their bikes. He cocked his head at her, eyes meeting hers questioningly. 

“I just- I gotta make sure they’re okay,” she said. He softened, chuckling softly. 

“Course you do. Be safe, okay? Make sure you’re not still out there when the storm hits.” Maya nodded. She began towards the water, lightly jogging to avoid any physical contact with Lucas. The wind was blowing harder now, whipping the sand harshly and stinging her calves as she ran. Her feet sank deeper with each step. She could just barely make out the person in the water. It was a girl, looked like. She was in the water up to her shoulders, which were tan and snaked with locks of dark hair, glossy with the seawater. Maya kept moving forward as the chill of the ocean enveloped her feet. She shivered, now even more worried about the girl in the water. Wouldn’t she freeze to death out here? She trudged through the water until she couldn’t anymore, and then she swam, her usually clean strokes flailing and frantic. She was getting close now. The person- the girl, she could now tell for sure- was facing out to sea, so Maya couldn’t see her face. 

“Hey lady!” she spluttered through the churning waves. The girl turned around. She looked at Maya, eyes wide with shock. She seemed to try to say something, but Maya couldn’t hear her over the rage of the coming storm.

“You gotta-” Maya cut off as a wave crashed into her face. She resurfaced, gasping for air. The girl began to swim towards her. Maya tried her hardest to tread water, but the storm was coming in supernaturally fast. Rain was already beginning to fall, and the brackish water on her cheeks dripped into her mouth with every attempted breath. The water swirled with her feet, dragging her under as she kicked desperately against the racing currents.

“You gotta…” muttered Maya. The last thing she saw was a pair of eyes, dark as the depths themselves, before everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AA sorry this took so long y'all. Both me and my lovely beta have been a ton more busy than we'd thought. Hope u enjoy tho! big love.

Maya woke up to find that her surroundings were darker than the insides of her eyelids. Had she gone blind? The air was warm and humid, and she heard the echoing drips of water all around her. She was laid down on what could only be sand- a little bit damp, but still soft and warm. Was she still on the beach, then? Where had the sun gone? Maya shifted, not sure if she should sit up, or if she might hit her head on something.

“Oh!” said a voice suddenly, reverberating off of walls she couldn’t see. Maya tensed. It was a girl’s voice, but it definitely didn’t belong to Missy or to Smackle or anybody that she knew.

“Who’s there?” she meant to ask confidently, but her voice caught in her throat and came out as more of a choked whisper. 

“Ah, right. You can’t see,” said the voice. Maya rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, no shit I can’t see. It’s pitch black in here,” she mumbled. Her face reddened as she realized that the space was probably small enough that the person in here with her could hear all of what she was saying. They could be kidnapping her for all she knew. Best to keep her attitude in check.

“Sorry, sorry. Here!” said the voice. A deafening crack rang around the space, and light suddenly flooded the room. Before her eyes had a chance to adjust, a splash of salty water hit her smack in the face as whatever had fallen from the ceiling hit the shallow pool.

“Fuck! Crap, oops, I’m so sorry. I- I don’t really… I-”

Maya could see around her now. She seemed to be in a cave of some sort, on a little patch of sand surrounded by water. It was warm, she noted, as it lapped at her shoeless feet before settling once more. The ceiling was low and rocky, with a notable chunk now missing. The cave was just barely tall enough for her to sit up, which she now allowed herself to cautiously do.   
Maya looked dead ahead, and her eyes settled on the most beautiful creature she’d ever seen. Her skin was tan and unblemished, glistening golden in the sunlight now bouncing off the water. She had dark hair slicked back by the sea, and her eyes were mesmerizing- a deep, warm brown that was strangely comforting.

“You…” Maya wondered out loud. “Where do I know you from?” The girl moved closer, coming up out of the water a bit more. She said nothing, but stared at her, utterly transfixed. Maya found that she couldn’t pry her eyes away, and didn’t want to try. The girl’s gaze seemed to hold her gently, to whisper that she could get lost in these eyes and be okay, be safe. 

It was then that Maya realized that the girl wasn’t wearing a shirt. 

“Oh holy fuck. Shit, dude.” she mumbled, covering her eyes with her hand and trying to will away the blush that she could already feel creeping up her neck. She fell backwards awkwardly and pressed her fingers into her closed eyes. Fucking hell. Using every ounce of willpower in her body, she wrenched her eyes to the girl’s face.

“Are you- are you okay?” the girl asked her, eyebrows knit with concern. 

“Why are you not wearing a swimsuit?” Maya croaked. The girl’s eyes widened, and she looked down, as if she hadn’t even realized herself. 

“Oops- that would be a problem for you, wouldn’t it,” she giggled, cracking a smile. Maya felt even more blood rush to her face.

“Wh- what does-” she stuttered. “what is that supposed to mean?” Her heart raced. There was no way for this girl to know anything. Could she just tell? God, Maya hoped not. 

“Just, like, humans in general,” the girl said absentmindedly, almost to herself as she began swimming away from her. What? “It’s okay, I found one of those a couple weeks ago. Wasn’t comfortable, but-” with that, the girl disappeared soundlessly into the water. Maya blinked, taking in the sudden absence. 

What the fuck was going on? She racked her brain, trying to piece together what had happened before she woke up. The storm- right. She’d been struggling in the water- almost drowning, she allowed herself to admit. Maya was a confident swimmer, but the storm had snuck up on her. She remembered being struck by a wave, and something else…

“Got it!” The girl came up from the water once more with a splash, now clad in a bright yellow string bikini top. It was a bit snug, the straps tight on her bronzed shoulders, but Maya’s face was nowhere near as scarlet as it’d been before. She now got a decent once-over of her companion. Her shoulders were broad and her skin was tanned evenly all down her torso. She wasn’t sure if it was the dark water or a trick of the light, but the girl’s body seemed to stop just below her belly button. Odd.

“Hey- does your head hurt at all? Are you breathing okay?” the girl asked with concern, moving closer and reaching to touch Maya’s face. Surprising herself, Maya didn’t pull away. The girl’s hands were warm and soft and she didn’t even worry about how red she probably was. 

“I’m… I think I’m okay?” she mumbled. Relief washed over the girl’s face.

“What were you doing out there in that weather?”

“Me? What were you doing out there?” Maya asked. The girl laughed out loud, pulling her hand away from Maya’s cheek to cover her mouth. Maya blinked at her, taken aback.  
“Well- I mean, drowning isn’t really much of a worry for me.” What?

“Why the hell not?” Maya asked incredulously. The girl didn’t stop smiling, which frustrated her. Like she was in on some glaringly obvious joke that Maya still wasn’t getting. She ran her fingers through her hair, which moved a lot more fluidly than it looked like it should be able to, considering how wet it was. 

“The gills kind of keep that from being a possibility,” the girl giggled. Wait a second. Hold up. Take a fucking step back. 

“The what?”

The girl lifted herself out of the water a bit, holding up her arms and showing Maya the side of her ribcage. Sure enough, a line of four horizontal slits lined her ribs. They were almost imperceptible at first, but they flared out as Maya moved to touch them, expanding an inch off of her skin

“Holy shit,” she muttered, looking up at the girl’s face. Her cheeks were pink and she wasn’t meeting Maya’s eye. Worried she was overstepping, Maya brought her hand back and sat it in her lap. 

“So you’re… not human?” she asked tentatively. The girl looked at her and smiled softly.

“I’m Riley. I’m… I guess you’d call me a mermaid.” Maya took in a breath. That wasn’t a thing. Mermaids weren’t real, she’d lived by the ocean her whole life. She would’ve seen them. They only existed in fairy tales and the pretend games of little girls at the community pool.

“Prove it,” she said with confidence that surprised herself. The girl-- no, Riley-- nodded in understanding. She reached her arms out to the expanse of sand next to Maya and pulled herself up. Maya didn’t even try not to look at how the muscles in her arms bulged as she moved. As she came out of the water, Maya watched the expanse of smooth, tan skin on her back fleck with little iridescent scales, more and more of them as her eyes scanned down. There was no break at her hips, no long golden legs to match her torso. Instead, her body curved down into a sleek and sparkling fish tail that glistened with the seawater. It was sturdy and muscular, with just the suggestion of the silhouette of human legs. The scales seemed to be every color of the rainbow all at once, shifting and glimmering as the tail moved. Riley was swaying it back and forth slightly, easily moving the water with a fin that looked to be as broad as Riley’s shoulders, almost translucent and shot through with white ridges. It was formidable and gorgeous and Maya was absolutely captivated. She wanted to run her hands down it, to explore every inch. (She might’ve thought about doing that to Riley’s upper half, too, but that was beside the point.)

Riley flipped over and sat up next to Maya, the side of her tail centimeters from Maya’s thigh. She raised her fin out of the water, positioning it right under the hole in the ceiling. When the light hit it, it seemed to turn to glass, the room suddenly flooding with bright light. Rainbows danced all around her, and her own skin seemed to glitter with the same iridescence as the scales on Riley’s tail. She could do nothing but stare, mouth gaping, and take it in as much as she could. For some reason, she felt safer in this cave, next to this beautiful, magical stranger, than she had in years.

“So, Riley the mermaid?” Maya asked, breaking the silence. 

“Yeah?”

“Have I been kidnapped?” Riley’s tail fell back into the water, plunging the cave back into its previous dimly lit state, and she turned to look at Maya.

“What? Of course not! I- you were drowning.”

“Why didn’t you bring me back to shore?” she asked, cracking a smile. Riley blushed, Maya thought. Maybe it was the low lighting.

“I wanted to be sure you were okay,” she mumbled. “I brought you here so I could make sure you were warm, and that your lungs didn’t have too much water in them, and that you didn’t have… like, a concussion or something? And-”

“Hey. It’s okay,” Maya said, grinning slightly.

“It is?”

“Yeah.” 

It was quiet again now, but not uncomfortably. Maya breathed. The air was thick and muggy, even more so than she was used to living in Florida. Riley’s tail was still moving slowly back and forth under the water. The fin was almost invisible in the darkness, but every once in a while it would catch a glint of the light and Maya’s breath would catch in her throat.  
“Why aren’t you scared?” the mermaid asked her in a voice softer than a whisper.

“I don’t know,” Maya responded honestly. She should probably be much more… scared? Alarmed? Disbelieving? More something than she was, but for some reason she just wasn’t. She wasn’t in a cave with a random mermaid, she was in a cave with Riley. Who she’d just met, but who radiated such a calming energy of home that she didn’t need to be scared.

“Oh.” Riley paused. “What are those on your- erm- swimsuit?”

Maya looked up at her, a bit baffled by the sudden change in topic. Riley tapped her bikini top with her finger, and Maya blushed as she looked down. That was innocent. She doesn’t seem to understand the whole… thing with boobs.

“Oh, peaches? Have you not seen those before?” she looked at the mermaid with a grin. “They’re a fruit. Do mermaids not have fruit?”

“Not really. We kind of just have fish.” 

“And who’s we? Do you guys live in like, schools?” Maya said with a giggle, but Riley’s face dropped. 

“Hey,” Maya said, reaching out to touch Riley’s face. A little voice in the back of her brain wondered why she’d done that, why it felt so natural to touch the cheek of someone she’d just met, someone she knew nothing about, someone who wasn’t even human. But for some reason Maya didn’t see any reason for concern.

“Sorry. I just- I’m on my own now,” Riley said, looking down but not leaning away from Maya’s hand.

“How come?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it? If that’s okay,” she said, her voice trailing off a bit at the end. Maya nodded. 

“So then, um, where are we?” she asked.

“Right! It’s a cave I found off the beach. I wanted to be able to, uh, watch over you, I guess. To make sure you were alright.” Once again, Maya thought Riley’s cheeks might be pinker than usual. Wishful thinking, most likely.

“Love the atmosphere. I hear 90% humidity is really good for the recovery process.” she said with a smirk, and Riley giggled, and it sparkled through the air like wind chimes in the rain. Maya wanted to sit here for hours. She wanted to lean her head on Riley’s shoulder and tell her everything about herself. She wondered if that was a mermaid power, like a siren-type thing. 

“I’m usually a really good swimmer, by the way. Just so you know. That storm came out of nowhere.” she told her. Riley laughed again, and Maya felt a rush of butterflies. Fuck.

“Yeah- why were you out there? You never answered the question. I think you got distracted by my tail.” Maya tried to hide her blush.

“I, uh. I was worried about you. I wanted to warn you about the storm,” she muttered, embarrassed about how fucking stupid that seemed now, all things considered. “Do mermaids have some kind of magic pull thing? Like sirens luring fisherman out to sea?” she asked timidly. Riley furrowed her brow.

“No, that’s a myth. A kind of offensive one, honestly. Don’t know what use luring men out to sea would have,” she said, a bit of bite in her voice that wasn’t directed at Maya, she could tell, but at the misconception itself. 

“Oh.” Maya got redder. So she was just a huge gay moron. That’s cool.

“It’s lovely that you came out to try and help me, though. If I’d been human, I could’ve been in real danger,” Riley butted in, as if she’d read Maya’s thoughts and was trying to assuage her embarrassment. 

“Well, I’m lucky you weren’t. Or I probably would’ve drowned.” she said, more solemnly than she’d meant to. Riley looked at her for a few seconds, some complex emotion clouding her eyes. Maya’s breath caught again. Then, as if it was the most casual thing in the world, Riley laid her hand on Maya’s thigh. And everything stopped.

It was nothing like when Lucas had done it. She could feel every single atom of her skin that was in contact with Riley’s, and the warmth from her hand seemed to creep up her leg, spreading all through her body. It was so much and not enough at the same time, like she wanted to melt into Riley’s body, every part of them touching, but just her hand on Maya’s thigh was a new level of overwhelming. It was then that every doubt she’d ever had about whether or not she liked men, whether she’d ever like men, was completely eradicated. She was gay gay GAY and god, was she fucked.

“Hey,” she choked, realizing for the first time how long she’d probably been there. “What time is it?”

“Ah. Right.” Riley pushed off her leg and splashed back into the water. A wave hit her, the water feeling especially cold where Riley’s hand had just sat seconds before. Riley swam to the middle of the pool in seconds with just one wave of her tail and stopped right where the sun was shining into the cave, underneath the hole in the roof.

“I think… no later than eight,” she murmured. Shit. Eight? Shit. “Not sure the sun’s all the way up yet.” Oh wait. Oh fuck.

“Up yet? Do you mean it’s eight in the morning?” Maya said, panic rising in her stomach. Riley nodded, brows knit. 

“You were out for a while.”

“Oh fuck,” Maya said, scrambling to her feet. She had to crouch to avoid hitting her head on the ceiling. “Do you think I could climb out that hole?” she asked the mermaid, gesturing to the ceiling. Riley hesitated, looking up at Maya sadly. Maya felt a pang of regret. Was she really going to leave the most incredible person (well, mermaid) that she had ever met?

“I can come back,” she said, before she even stopped to think about it. “Can I? Like, is that something I can do?”

“Can you? I mean, you could. I’ll be… I live right under here,” Riley said, eyes lighting up. Maya’s heart swelled.

“I’ll be back tomorrow. I promise.”

“Wait! What’s your name? I never asked.” Riley blurted out. 

“Maya. My name’s Maya.” Riley’s face softened.

“Maya.” Maya felt her face warm up just at hearing her name on the mermaid’s lips. “Here. I’ll help you climb out. Step on my shoulders.”

“Um,” she swallowed. “Okay.” She looked down at her feet, half sunken in to the edge of the little sandbank. There was a two foot expanse of water in between her and the mermaid’s shoulders. She could no doubt reach them, but-

“Can you support my weight? You’re treading water,” Maya questioned. Riley nodded.

“We’re kind of built to be in the water, and we’re stronger than most humans. Especially our tails.” Cool, cool. Not gonna think too hard about that one, she thought. She took a tentative step forward, placing her foot on Riley’s shoulder and reaching up to hold onto the ceiling. A warm hand wrapped around her ankle and held it there tightly. Maya took a breath in and stepped forward with her other foot, maintaining a firm grip on a notch in the top of the cave. She was right underneath the hole, which was plenty big enough to go through, she just had to suck it up and jump. Whatever, she was no pussy.

And she somehow knew that Riley wouldn’t let her fall.

With that she sprang up, arms reaching and grabbing on to the top of the cave outside. Her legs kicked around frantically for a minute before she caught them on a little ledge on the underside of the roof. Drawing on arm strength she’d previously thought she didn’t possess, she pulled herself up out of the cave and onto the flat rock it lived beneath, the sun-warmed surface. 

The morning light was comforting and not yet too hot, and Maya wanted nothing but to lay there for a little while and catch her breath. She knew, however, that if she got home within the hour, her mom might still be asleep and she could come up with some explanation as to where she had been. She leaned her head back over the hole, and shouted into it.

“I’ll be back tomorrow! I promise!” She just barely caught Riley smile before she turned and sprinted back down the beach.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> F I N A L L Y!! here i am, after an embarrassingly long time. I've been busy as hell and have not had much time to write, but i'm back now w a brand new shiny chapter! thank yall for bearing with me, and thank you to everyone who left comments on my past 2 chapters that shit always makes my day.

Maya’s towel, which Lucas had left on the beach with her, was absolutely soaked through. This made it horrendously heavy to carry on her shoulders as she biked home, not to mention the damp sand dripping down her back. She was almost home and her lungs were on fire- she hadn’t had anything to drink in almost 24 hours, but she needed to get there before her mother woke up. It was a Tuesday, Maya knew, because summer hadn’t set in long enough for the days of the week to start blending together. This meant that Katy had worked the late shift last night, thank god, so she wouldn’t be up as early as she might be on another day. She could slip in through her bedroom window that she always leaves unlocked and run straight into the shower. Maya usually showered at night, but she doubted her mother paid enough attention that she’d notice the discrepancy. 

She squeaked through the sharp right turn onto her block, leaving skid marks on the faded pavement. Her bike was old and rusting at some of the seams, (leaving it out in the rain last night, whether intentionally or not, would have consequences) but it got the job done. Her thighs burned as she slowed, turning her bike onto her lawn and trudging it through the crab grass. The space between her house and the chain-link fence that separated her property from their neighbor’s was just wide enough that she could squeeze through if she moved slowly. She slid the backs of her nails along the fading blue paint until they met the rough dry wood of the windowpane. Maya stopped, sliding off the bicycle seat to stand on the ground, straddling the frame. Shit, she realized. She was going to have to leave her bike here. It probably wouldn’t get stolen, right? No one would really want her old, crummy bike anyways.

She pushed up on the frosted glass, holding her breath. It squeaked upward and she sighed with relief. With a few more forceful nudges, the window was opened wide enough for her to squeeze through. Theoretically. Well, she’d already done some wobbly gymnastics this morning escaping the cave, why not continue the streak? She grabbed onto the windowsill and poked her head inside. It was around chest height on her, more like stomach height on someone normal sized, she thought. Finally, her height worked to her advantage. She wriggled her hips forward, forcing herself halfway through the window. The bathroom wasn’t quite small enough that she could reach out her hands and steady herself on the far wall, but she managed to grab onto the tank of the toilet. Maya kicked off her flip flops and hooked her big toes on the links of the fence behind her, pushing up to lift her middle off the windowsill. She inched her hands forward, dropping them down to the lid of the toilet itself. Cool. She really hoped this wouldn’t end with her breaking her nose on a toilet. Now that she thought about it, it would have been a much better idea to try to come in feet first. Oh, well. With a tiny prayer, she grabbed onto the towel rack and swung her left leg into the bathroom. It scraped the chipping wood of the outside window frame, but landed firmly on the toilet seat. Thank god. She slowly brought her other foot to meet it, and stepped off the toilet. 

Maya closed the bathroom door quietly and turned on the shower. She turned to examine herself in the mirror, to see what kind of shape she was in after almost drowning and spending the night passed out in a mermaid cave. Her hair was frizzy and had little salt crystals stuck in it. Her eyelashes were webbed together with dried seawater, and her forehead looked like it was breaking out a bit from all the dirt that must have been left in her pores overnight. She ran a finger over her cracking lips, trying to pinch some color back into them. This much salt was not great for her already dry skin. 

She shed her swimsuit, wincing at the sheer amount of sand that had managed to get trapped, and stuck her hand past the shower curtain to check the water temperature. It was hot, which felt nice even though she’d been sweating outside. Maybe something to do with her still damp swimsuit that had left her skin moist and cold. She jumped in, almost sighing aloud as the water hit her body. She could feel the grime and sea salt rinsing off of her. Her limbs ached, and she felt like she could stand there under the stream for millennia. As she closed her eyes and allowed the water to drip down her face, her mind drifted to what she’d just experienced.

Mermaids. Mermaids were real. Maya had never been much of a mermaid kid. One time, she and Lucas had found one of those mermaid tails you could swim in, and they’d played with it in the pool for hours. It had looked nothing like Riley’s tail, though. God, just thinking about Riley made butterflies rise in her stomach. This was not good. She had a crush on a mermaid. A female mermaid. Or was Riley female? She looked it, and she definitely had- er- nursing organs. But how did mermaid gender work? 

She shook her head and reached for the shampoo. Of all the things to be worrying about right now, the sex of the mythical creature she’d just been rescued by really shouldn’t be her top priority. She scrubbed at her scalp, cringing at the amount of sand that had managed to get there. Ugh- this was going to be a bitch of a shower.  
Ninety minutes and a whole bottle of conditioner later, Maya tiptoed into the kitchen, wet hair up in a bun. Katy Hart sat at the kitchen table, her half-eaten breakfast sitting in front of her as she read some news story on her phone. 

“Morning, Mom,” Maya said, sitting down at the table across from her. Her mother looked up at her.

“Morning honey! God, I’m- did you get home okay last night? I heard there was a storm at the beach. I passed out the second I got back, I’m sorry I didn’t check in on you,” she said to her daughter. Maya almost sighed audibly with relief. 

“It’s okay Mom. We left before it got bad, I was fine. I was asleep when you got home.” The response was basically automatic at this point. Her mother worked so hard, and Maya did genuinely appreciate it. It just sucked how tired she was, and how little time she got to herself.

“You know, I promise I really would be okay getting a job for the summer. Lots of people I know are working th-”

“No, no, no. Darling, you are going to spend this summer having fun and doing teenage things with your friends. You’re only seventeen once. I don’t want you spending it cooped up behind some register at a Starbucks.”

They’d had this talk quite a few times. Katy didn’t want Maya working all summer. She had it in her head that summertime was the peak of quintessential teenage experience, and that if Maya missed out on it to support them she’d never be able to recover socially. Sometimes Maya wondered what it was about her mother’s childhood summers that made her see them in such a light. Did she have a Lucas Friar? Someone familiar, looking into her eyes with a feeling she didn’t return? _Mom, were you ever rescued by a mermaid with eyes like the night?_

“Topanga called me this morning. Wanted to know if you’d like to watch Auggie this afternoon,” Katy said, shaking Maya back to reality. She nodded.

“Yeah, I’m down. Always. God knows what that kid would do if they got him a real babysitter,” she said, genuinely meaning it. Zay once told her, just a few months after they met, that she didn’t seem the type to be good with kids. And truthfully, she wasn’t good with kids. She was good with August Matthews. She remembered how hesitant she’d been the first time the Matthews asked her to babysit him. She was fourteen, and she was terrified that she was gonna kill little Auggie somehow. Mr. Matthews, she’d said, I tried to dip dye my hair with kool-aid a couple weeks ago and ended up staining the entire bathroom floor strawberry-kiwi. What about that makes me seem like a good pick to watch a child? Nevertheless, she’d showed up on time, and she’d spent four and a half hours watching Auggie Matthews- playing with him, listening to his stories, and reading to him before he went to sleep. 

“When do they want me over?” Maya asked her mother. Katy shrugged.

“You could probably head over there now. It is almost noon, and I’m sure the Matthews would like to see you.” Maya checked the time on her phone. She’d been in the shower for a while, it was almost noon already. 

“All right. I think I’ll have breakfast first. Or- lunch, at this point.”

“Baby girl, you sleep too much,” her mom told her with a chuckle, shaking her head. Maya scoffed quietly to herself. She grabbed a poptart out of the box and tore away the wrapper, . Her mother went back to her article as Maya stood up, nibbling on the side of the pastry.

“Bye, mom!” she said through a mouthful of frosting. She slipped on her flip flops and bolted for the door with her breakfast between her teeth. She’d have to go out the back door to get her bike out from in between the house and the fence. 

Cory answered the doorbell in seconds. 

“This one!” he exclaimed with an exaggerated grimace. “Topanga, do I have to let her in?” he called back into the house. Maya chuckled.

“I think if you don’t your son’ll have a temper tantrum,” she shot back. 

“Hey!” Cory defended. “This many does not have temper tantrums!” He held up nine fingers. It’d been a joke with them long after Auggie had stopped referring to himself that way. Auggie absolutely hated it.

“Come on in Maya,” Cory said, finally stepping aside. Auggie was sitting at the kitchen table, where Topanga appeared to be preparing chinese leftovers. Maya took off her dusty sandals and skipped over to sit across from Auggie.

“What’s up, honey?” Topanga asked, placing a plate of noodles in front of her.

“Oh, I’ve eaten,” Maya protested. Topanga looked at her with her hands on her hips. 

“What have you eaten?” she asked, full lawyer voice on.

“A Pop-Tart,” she mumbled in response. Topanga pointed at the pasta. Maya complied.

“How’s the gang doing? How’s Lucas?” Topanga asked, almost offhandedly. Maya visibly cringed. 

“What? Do we not like Lucas?”

“We like Lucas,” Cory said, sitting down next to Maya. “But not the way Lucas likes us.”

“Ooh. Yikes. Is that a big issue for us?”

“Why is this a collective thing?” Maya asked them. “You guys don’t have to deal with this. I do.”

“Nonsense, Maya. We deal with all of this together,” said Topanga, placing a hand on Maya’s shoulder. Maya rolled her eyes, but smiled.

“I’m fine. It’s not a big issue, I don’t think,” Maya said, just as much to herself as to them. “I made a new friend yesterday,” she found herself saying. “She helped me- er- get home in the storm.”

“Does she go to Abigail Adams?” Cory asked. Maya stuttered.

“She’s- uh, no. She’s 18 already- she graduated last year. From a different high school.” Maya had no idea how old Riley was, but that really didn’t matter right now. 

“What’s her name?” asked Topanga. 

“Riley.” It was silent for a second. Maya looked up, and Mr. and Mrs. Matthews were exchanging a glance that she couldn’t entirely read. 

“What?” she asked them.

“Oh, nothing. Lovely name, s’all.” said Corey, eyes not moving from his wife’s.

“Don’t you guys have to go?” said Auggie, speaking for the first time since Maya had arrived. It seemed to shake the couple out of their moment.

“Yeah, you’re right, Aug,” Cory grunted, getting up out of his chair. He and Topanga gathered their things and made their way to the door, Auggie tapping at the table impatiently all the while.

“Maya, you’ll call us if anything happens,” Topanga said, not quite a question, because she knew for sure that Maya would. 

“Yep,” Maya responded anyways. She smiled at Auggie as his parents walked out the door. 

“Ugh, finally!” he exclaimed, throwing himself out of his chair and landing on the carpet with a hand dramatically thrown across his forehead.  
“How ya doin’ Aug?” she asked him with a smirk.

“Summer sucks!” he shouted. “You just sit there and do nothing because Doy’s at his grandma’s house and Ava’s in freaking Europe.” He rolled over, completely facedown on the floor. 

“Well. You do have me,” Maya offered. Auggie grunted and lifted his face, propping his head up on his arms.

“Fine.”

“What have you been doing, then?” she asked, genuinely curious.

“It’s bad, Maya. I’ve gotten to the point where I read for fun,” he whispered. Maya gasped. “I know!” he shouted. 

“What have you read?” Maya prompted. He paused, scrunching up his face.

“I started this one mermaid book. It’s this dude who meets a mermaid and they, like, fall in love or something. It’s kind of weird, but it’s all I have. I found it.” Maya fell off her chair. 

“Maya! Are you okay?” Auggie asked, scrambling over to her. Maya sat up. 

“Yeah! I’m… yeah. What happens in the book? What’s the mermaid like?” she asked frantically. Auggie looked at her, taken aback. 

“Uh, it’s a fake book, Maya. It’s made up. ‘Cause mermaids aren’t real.” Hah. 

“Yeah no, I know, I know. But like, for scientific curiosity, or whatever.”

She had never felt more judged by a preteen in her life. With a very confused look on his face, Auggie walked upstairs and came back down with the book. It was leather-bound, with gold lettering on the spine. Maya almost laughed out loud. This was too much. Mermaids being real were one thing, but whatever this shit was had got to be a joke, or a really weird coincidence.

“It’s like… old-timey themed or something,” Auggie said. Maya nodded, even though it looked far too realistic to be fake.

“Do you want to read it together?” she asked him. He scrunched his nose and looked at her with annoyance.

“Maya. I’m nine.”

“Oh, come on. Sometimes it’s fun to do stuff you’re too old for.” she retorted. Auggie sighed.

“Okay. But only because you’re so obsessed with it.” Maya was almost offended, but decided if she’d been in his position, she probably would’ve been really deeply confused, so she gave him a pass. 

They sat down on the couch, and Maya propped the book open on her lap and started reading aloud.

_Our story started long ago, far away, as stories do. A lonesome young man lived by the sea, and he watched it every day, fixated on the waves. Then, one day, a storm, created by the ocean herself, brought him out to sea. In the swirling water, he’d seen a woman, seemingly helpless against the tide. He ran out to her, but was swept up by the waves. The woman, a mermaid, saved him from the storm and brought him into her cave. There, she cared for him until he was better. He was injured by the storm and had to stay in her cave while she slowly nursed him back to health. Over the months of care and friendship, they fell in love, as people do. He came back to visit her every day, and she showed him the marvels of her world. But the spirits of the sea were not pleased. They were angry with the mermaid for showing the ocean to one of a species so cruel to it, one whose people polluted its waters and killed its reefs. They sent another storm, just as powerful as the ocean’s. But this one was violent and it ripped through the water with force. The man, scared for his life, ran to safety on the land. His mermaid lover could not follow him. She was buried under the sand, deep, deep in the sea. Every day thereafter, the man yearned for his lost love, but he knew that it had been the spirits of the sea recognizing the darkness of their relationship. He urged his children, and his children’s children, never to talk to the people of the sea, lest they be led into danger and have their hearts shattered like his was._

“Well! That was super depressing and weird,” Auggie said, breaking the silence that Maya realized had gone on for almost a full minute after she’d finished reading aloud. 

“Yeah. It was, uh, weird.” She put the book away. Well. She was certainly going to have some questions to ask Riley when she returned in the morning.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends!! I’m sorry this update took a while. Im mad at me too lmao. But!! I’m here now and with this update comes apology gifts! I have a handy dandy playlist I made right here  !! and if any of yall wanna come chat to me for whatever reason u can hit me up on tumblr at [ iankabra ](https://iankabra.tumblr.com/). I’m not a gmw blog but i am ALWAYS willing to talk about gmw so come be friends!! And once again, a million thanks to those of u who are leaving such lovely comments!! It means the world and i would die for every one of you. ALSO SHOUTOUT TO MY GORGEOUS AMAZING EDITOR REN ID DIE FOR YOU //Ily Id die for you too :) - The "gorgeous amazing" Ren (it's true I'm amazing)
> 
> edit i cant make the links work because i dont understand technology but hmu in the comments for the spotify link i guess??? thanks for dealing w me.

On the way back to the beach the next morning, Maya made a pit stop. It was a Sunday, clear skied, and while the days of the week usually blended together in the summer, Sundays stood out. For one, the masses of old people who had chosen sunny and dull central Florida for the crepuscule of their lives flocked to church. Something about being on death’s door that made you want to start believing in god, Farkle had once said. Missy had then thrown a french fry at his head, but it’d stuck with Maya. The other thing about Sundays was the farmer’s market. It wasn’t very big, and it didn’t have many cutesy brands of homemade honey or anything like that, but some tan old men from little fruit farms would set up and sell to whoever passed by- and today, that was Maya. 

“Do you have any peaches?” she asked a little man sitting on a cooler under the tents. He squinted up at her.

“Eh?” he grunted. She grumbled.

“Peaches? Do you have them?” she asked louder. The man sighed, deep and long.

“Yup. Over there,” he said, gesturing over to a stack of fuzzy fruit in the corner of the stand. Oh. She reached over and grabbed one, turning back to the man with a spin. 

“How much?” 

“Eh?” Oh my god. She handed him a ten and hopped back on her bike, slipping the peach into her breast pocket. Her shirt was weighed down awkwardly, the top of her bikini top peeking out from the stretching collar. The fruit swung back and forth as she rode towards the beach.

\--

No one was out yet today- it was early and the sand was still cool beneath her feet. Her heart raced as she walked toward the cave- toward the hole she’d crawled out of less than 24 hours before, assisted by a mermaid. 

Just before she reached the rock, she heard a squeal. She whipped her head around, trying to locate the noise. A figure in the water, long hair almost dry, was waving at her.

“Maya!” Riley shouted. Maya bit back a grin. She jogged down to the water and waded in, not bothering to take off her shirt. Riley was far out from the sand but not quite past where the rocks on the edge of the beach ended. She wondered how long she’d been waiting out here. 

Maya approached her, treading water messily. She looked stupid next to a creature made for swimming; Riley gently swayed her arms back and forth just barely skimming the surface of the water. She was beaming.

“You came back.” she said, her voice small but her smile big. Maya nodded vigorously.

“Yeah,” she said, a bit out of breath from the swimming. “Are we gonna- uh- hang out here? Because I don’t know how much longer I can tread water.”

“Oh!” She didn’t seem to have considered at all that swimming could tire someone out. “Right, that would make sense.” she giggled, her voice the sound of perfect bells again. Maya couldn’t even hide her smile. “We can go back to the cave,” Riley suggested. Maya grimaced. 

“I don’t know if I can get back in through the hole in the ceiling, honey.” Riley bit her lip and Maya hoped she hadn’t caught the pet name. It’d slipped out.

“I can- I can, um. Bring you under.” 

“That sounds dangerous,” Maya muttered. Riley reddened.

“No! It isn’t. I mean, you’d be fine. Promise. You could just hold on to me and I could get us down through the doorway before you run out of breath.”

“Hold on to-” Maya began, but Riley moved before she could get her words out. She put her hands around Maya’s back, skin warm against hers and Maya’s head went fuzzy.

“Could you- I know it’s awkward, but could you try to grab on to me?” Riley asked, cheeks pink. “Like, you can put your arms around my neck and your legs around my tail. Just because I can move faster that way without worrying about you, like, falling off.”

Oh my god.

“Yeah, um. Okay.” Maya mumbled. This was okay. It wasn’t weird unless Maya made it weird. Riley had said it was necessary. She raised her arms gingerly and placed them behind Riley’s neck, her thick hair tangled but soft under her fingertips. Her elbows were stiff, and the two stayed there locked in place, unable to make eye contact like it was a middle school dance.

“Er- you should try to grab on with your legs too. Don’t worry, I can support your weight no problem.”

“Right, yeah.” Maya breathed, hoping Riley couldn’t see her heart beating through her shirt. She stretched out her legs, looking at how pale they seemed under the water next to Riley’s sun-kissed skin. She supposed if you lived in the water, you were probably tan even at the start of summer. Once she’d crossed her ankles behind Riley’s back, she hugged the mermaid’s hips with her thighs, careful to keep from touching her with any part of her bikini. She was right above Riley’s tail, and her heels brushed it as it slow-kicked back and forth with grace.

“Okay,” Riley whispered. Maya’s face was hot. “Hold your breath.” Then she was under.

The water was cold as ice on blush-warmed cheeks, but that was no shock at all compared to the speed at which they dove. Bubbles zipped past Maya’s ear as she was propelled deep beyond the surface. Every qualm she’d had about touching Riley disappeared as she feared she’d fall off and be lost in the sea. Then, just as quickly as they’d dropped, Riley shot upwards. Maya squeezed her eyes tight and held on as hard as she could until, with a pop, they burst to the surface.

“Holy shit!” she gasped. Her wet hair was plastered to her face, saltwater dripping into her eyes and mouth. She gave herself a few moments to catch her breath, arms aching from how tightly she was holding on to Riley. Wait. Fuck. She could feel her ankles crossed around the base of her tail, her thighs pressed firmly to either side of her waist. Still panting, she flipped her solid mass of hair over the top of her head, clearing her vision. The mermaid was right there, inches from her nose. Close enough for Maya to see the droplets of water caught on her eyelashes like jewels.

She fell backwards into the water and landed dead on her back. Riley rushed toward her, worried. 

“M’fine,” she splurted, swimming backward toward the edge of the water where she’d woken up the day before. Riley smiled as Maya adjusted, getting comfortable. Her eyes were still wide, like she couldn’t completely believe that Maya was in front of her. Funny. The mermaid didn’t believe in her.

“What?” she asked, feeling the corner of her mouth quirk up. Riley’s expression didn’t change.

“You came back,” she murmured. 

“Well, I did say I would, didn’t I?” Riley shook her head.

“But you didn’t have to.”

“It isn’t every day you meet a mermaid. I wanted to get to know you, I guess. Be, uh, friends.”

“I’d like that,” Riley beamed, and Maya melted. She swam toward her and crossed her arms on Maya’s knees, perching her pointed chin on her clasped hands. The contact tingled deep in Maya’s stomach. Riley furrowed her brow.

“What’s in your pocket,” she asked. Maya looked down. Her shirt was now entirely see-through, and in the pocket was something dark and round. Oh, right. She smiled.

“It’s probably a little bruised, but I brought you something,” she said, picking up the peach. “It’s- well-” she handed the peach to Riley, who let go of her knees to hold it. She peeled off her wet shirt and pointed to the design on her bikini.

“A peach!” Riley exclaimed. “How do I eat it?” 

“You just bite into it. It’s good, I promise.” Maya said, grinning already. Riley pushed her hair out of her face and took a big bite out of the fruit, juice dribbling down her chin into the water. 

“Mm! ‘Oly shit!” She said, mouth full of nectar. Maya laughed out loud as Riley lurched her head forwards to keep the juice from dripping onto her chest. She took another bite. “This’s so good.”

“Glad you think so. Don’t eat the pit,” she commented, smile still wide. Riley continued eating, surprisingly fast, and the messiness was kind of endearing.

“Never eaten anything wi’ this much juice before,” she mumbled, and Maya giggled, an honest-to-god giggle, which she wasn’t sure she’d done in years. Her mermaid friend finished up the peach and set the pit down on the sand next to Maya. 

“Thank you. It was so sweet,” she said, sincerity in her eyes. Maya blushed.

“Yeah, I assume it’d be a lot sweeter than most of the stuff you’re used to eating.”

“No.” Riley shook her head. “Like, it was sweet of you. To bring it for me. You’re sweet, sweet like peaches,” she said beaming, returning her chin to its spot on Maya’s knees. It was a wonder that her skin was so warm despite all the time she spent in the ocean, but here she was, arms little radiators in Maya’s lap. 

“Thanks,” she said softly, chin touching her chest 

“So Maya.”

“Yes, Riley?”

“Tell me about you.”

And so she did. She told Riley about her mother, about how the two of them had been alone since her father walked out. She told her about the Matthews, about little Auggie and the evenings they spent together. She told her all about Farkle and Smackle and Zay, her lovely friends.

“Then there’s Lucas and Missy. They’re my friends too, but it’s more complicated.” she said, trailing off at the end. Riley tilted her head.

“What do you mean?”

“Well- uh,” she choked. “Lucas and I have been friends for a long time. A really, really long time. But he, erm, likes me now.” 

“Did he not like you before? Harsh,” Riley chucked. Maya smiled at that.

“You know what I mean. Like, like like. Romantically.”

“And you don’t feel the same way?”

“No,” she breathed. “And Missy’s really been pushing me to make a move, or whatever.” Riley shook her head.

“Just tell her you don’t like him,” she said, as if it was that easy. Maya scoffed.

“She’d need a reason, she wouldn’t believe that I just don’t like him.”

“But… you just don’t like him,” Riley murmured, frowning.

“Don’t expect me to understand the mental processes of human teenage girls, Riles,” Maya joked. She froze, noticing the nickname. But Riley didn’t seem bothered.

“Maya. You’re a human teenage girl.” 

“Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean.” Riley’s expression suggested that she did not, in fact, know what Maya meant. Whatever.

“What about you? What’s mermaid life like?” she asked. Riley smiled, looking down.

“I mean, I don’t really have a mom or a dad or anything like that. We’re raised by the whole community. There’s usually a couple babies at a time, I grew up with three other mermaids my age.”

“Are there boy and girl mermaids?” Maya butted in, curious.

“I’m pretty sure gender works for us the same as it does for you. Pretty evenly split with men and women, a couple in-between here and there. I was one of two girls in my school-” Maya guffawed.

“What?” Riley asked, face red.

“You call them schools? Like fish?”

“Well we are half fish, Maya.” she grumbled. Maya grinned and touched her cheek absentmindedly. Riley looked up. She brought her hand up to Maya’s, her fingers somehow not pruned from the water, but soft, warm. They held each other’s gaze. Quiet. Drips of water echoed and her eyes were so so deep.

Riley cleared her throat and looked away, dropping her hand, and Maya tried to ignore how her heart sank to her stomach.

“Anyways. There really aren’t very many of us. Our leader, I think she’s in charge of the whole east coast. There’s a city, we’re concentrated there.”

“A city? Like fucking Atlantis or something?” Maya laughed. Riley reddened.

“Yeah? We don’t just live on the sand like animals.”

“Do you live in the city?”

“I’m- uh. It’s complicated. But no, I don’t. I live by here.” Maya brightened at that.

“Could I see?” she asked. Riley shook her head.

“Maybe next time.” She paused. “You are coming back, right?”

“Of course!” Maya said immediately. Of course she would come back. She really could talk to Riley for hours. It was odd how fast they’d connected, but she felt so strangely familiar, as if they’d known each other for years. 

She decided she’d put off asking about the book, for now. It wasn’t like her situation and the one in the book were the same- she and Riley were both girls, and Maya didn’t even know if mermaids could be gay. Plus, who was to say that book had any actual bearing on real life? It was probably just a weird fairy tale she’d happened upon by coincidence, and she had no reason to worry her new friend unnecessarily.

“What time is it, would you say?” Maya asked Riley. The mermaid threw herself back into the water and craned her neck to look out the hole in the ceiling.

“Maybe eleven?” she said, her hair fanned out in the pool. Her tail moved slowly, blues and greens glittering silver in the sunlight. Maya had to rip her eyes away.

“Fuck, okay. I have to go. I’ve got plans with my friends in half an hour.” she said. “But I’ll be back tomorrow. And the next day. We’re friends now, yeah?” Riley smiled.

“We’re friends now.” Riley helped Maya up through the hole in the ceiling again, which was still difficult, but easier the second time around. Once she’d wiggled her way completely out of the hole and onto the rock, she leaned her head over the edge, almost-dry curls dangling down.

“See you tomorrow!” she called to the mermaid, in a cheery voice she almost didn’t recognize as her own. 

“See you tomorrow, Peaches.” came the voice back, and Maya headed home sunset pink.


End file.
